Federal agencies administering the Endangered Species Act often issue justifications for their actions that are filled with badly flawed or even fabricated data, according to a congressional report being released today. A related problem, according to the report, is that “most of the federal agencies that administer ESA are unable to make basic and legitimate data” underlying their policies and procedures available to the public, as required by law. Read [email protected] 07:32

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

NEW BEDFORD — Local members of a newly-formed fishing advisory council hope their group can help the greater New Bedford fishing industry survive increasingly Draconian federal regulations. Read More »

Vessel design and poor handling caused the capsizing of the Ryan’s Commander that claimed the lives of two Newfoundland fishermen, a federal report concludes. The Transportation Safety Board Read More »